Sunday, January 5, 2014

Santa Arvind comes to town...

For the New Year.... a newish haircut! Sebastien is particularly gifted. He's French. A former DJ. An enthusiastic photographer. And in his present avatar, Director of a hair salon (JCB). I guess he knows his music as well as he understands hair! Great experience! This picture was clicked by my daughter Arundhati on his fancy camera.
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This appeared in Sunday Times today....

Arvind Kejriwal : India gets a Santa Claus…

India has been waiting for a Santa Claus for
ages. Maybe, we just got lucky! Santa rode into town this year and did so in a
unique fashion. No fancy sled. No reindeer. No jingle bells. He was carrying
just a jhaadu and a jhola full of unexpected goodies. People cheered. Critics
jeered. But despite the odds, our desi Santa managed to touch countless hearts.
The just concluded X’Mas and New Year celebrations were marked by the one
emotion that has been missing in our lives for decades – hope. Rightly or
wrongly, a single individual became the focal point of this collective
hope - Santa Arvind .His timing was impeccable.
Things were getting pretty desperate. There was mayhem all around. Doom and
gloom defined the national mood. Out of that chaos, emerged a non-descript
person, who is being hailed as the biggest game changer in the country.

Listening to his seminal speech in the Lok
Sabha, a few things became startlingly
obvious . The simplicity of what he was saying, made the others look really
foolish . His approach was direct and non-confrontational. It was devoid of
theatrics or unnecessary drama. The content was easy to access… process… decode
and absorb. He spoke in a language understood by the large majority of India.
Minus any flourishes, and stripped to basics, the clarity of his speech may
well go down as the single most direct form of mass communication in the public
arena. He spoke more like a concerned citizen and less like a seasoned
politician. Given that he must have been perfectly aware of the historical
significance of this address, he chose his words carefully and well. The thing
is, Kejriwal played a credible Santa. He didn’t shortchange his constituency by
making absurd claims or demands. And he didn’t alienate his opponents by hurling charges and accusations at them. The
contrast between him and ‘them’ was instantly recognized and applauded by
India.

Kejriwal has understood the psychology of
our people far better than any of his rivals. He has read us well. He knows our
pulse. And he effortlessly presses all the right buttons. Most importantly, he
gives the impression he isn’t faking it. Citizens are exhausted. Citizens are
cynical. And citizens are impatient. They can see through political nataks.
It’s not pompous orators with the gift of the gab, they seek. Neither is it
pampered Baba Log speaking in posh accents and
suffering from a case of serious ADS ( Attention Deficit Syndrome). It
is someone more like themselves they want. Someone who doesn’t talk down. A
straight forward fellow . A no-nonsense chap. But here’s the catch. So far, Kejriwal has
acquitted himself convincingly as just another aam aadmi looking for change in
a hopelessly corrupt system. His Paani-Bijli
narrative has worked well, even if one can pick several holes in its
populist pitch. His moving into a comparatively modest, but still frightfully extravagant
6,000 square feet duplex, may not sit all that well with the jhuggi-jhopdi-
jhola wallas he courts. Some of his earlier gestures also smack of mass
manipulation. None of this matters in the long run, if – and it’s a pretty big
‘if’ – Kejriwal relentlessly pursues and punishes the corrupt. Our vote was
cast for that single promise.And we shall hold him to it.

It’s fascinating to see Dilliwallas
scrambling to adapt to the new order. Long term netas, who have remained deeply entrenched in the old style
of functioning (complete with the standard sho-sha of office), have realized
the party is finally over. It has always been Delhi that set the standards for
netagiri for the rest of India. Almost overnight, Kejriwal has rewritten the
rules. Those khadi-couture clad leaders with perfectly co-ordinated sleeveless
Nehru jackets, look almost comical as they strut around, noses in the air,
black cats surrounding them, supreme
self importance exuding from every gesture and utterance! How idiotic they look!
How dated. How pathetic. Each one of them, a ludicrous symbol of all that we
despise and have despised for decades. Suddenly, they seem over. They are past
tense. And one hopes, with them goes the baggage of misdemeanors and crimes
that have blighted our lives for too long.

Can our Santa keep up with increasing
demands? Will his sack run out of goodies? Is it euphoria that is driving our
enthusiasm? Does this well meaning Santa stand a chance in hell as a national
leader? Will ‘they’ allow him to take his sled across India? Worse, will he
eventually sell out and become one of them? These are our worst nightmares. But
then again, we live in hope! There are those who are dreaming of Santa becoming
India’s P.M. A word of caution here :
Much as I hate to rain on Kejriwal’s party, it’s worth reminding him and his
admirers that a wise leader takes things
one step at a time. The first baby step has been taken in Delhi. The jhaadu has
done its job where it was needed the most – in the Capital of India. The rest
of the country will follow. Eventually. As they say in China : Slowlee, slowlee,
catchee monkee!

Hi,I am writing on behalf of Democratic World mag being published from Delhi. They want to feature you in their cover story in the next issue. I am based in Hyderabad. Could you kindly spare some time for me? I will send you a questionnaire. Please respond me to payam.sudhakaran@gmail.com

Good post. Arvind has refused the bungalow offered to him though he lives with his wife (unlike Modi), 2 children & parents. Include a guest room & even a common man needs 4 bedrooms with this kind of family. And then there is a party office attached to it & a lawn to meet the common people. But Arvind would go for a smaller one. Like Rajiv Gandhi he has also refused security for him & his office whose "nateeja" we saw recently. The man is too simple for his & his party's security & convenience. When pompous netas have palaces, this 'working CM' doesn't have even the necessities.

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